The present invention relates to garbage disposal devices and their installation. More particularly, a tool or mounting device is provided for use in installing the garbage disposal support rings and positioning a snap ring or a locking ring in an annular groove on a sink flange. The snap ring secures the support rings on the sink flange and the disposal is hung from the support rings.
A significant factor in the difficulty of mounting garbage disposals is that the installer must operate from below the sink and, in this position, install the support rings and insert the snap ring into the annular groove on the sink flange. More particularly, the support ring components include a back-up ring and a mounting ring which must be fitted over the sink flange body below the sink, and then the snap ring must be opened and placed in the annular groove to fix the components on the flange body. Thereafter, the disposal may be hung from the mounting ring.
Typically, the snap ring is opened and advanced along the flange body surface. In order to prevent the sink flange from being pushed upwardly out of the drain opening, a second person works from the top of the sink to hold the sink flange in place. It is desirable to avoid the need of a second person to assist in the installation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,110 discloses a snap ring mounting tool that directly mounts to the lower opening of the sink flange by means of detents or a resilient lip. The tool includes a frustoconical surface having an upper diameter slightly larger than that of the flange and tapering to a lower diameter less than the internal diameter of the snap ring. Accordingly, the installer pushes the snap ring along the frustoconical surface until the ring is received in the annular groove on the flange body. The movement of the snap ring tends to lift the sink flange upwardly, and it is necessary to restrain such movement.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,360,419 and 6,477,756 disclose a tool comprising a first cylindrical member having a conical surface including an annular groove which carries the snap ring during installation. A second cylindrical member has a female mating conical surface used to advance the snap ring into the annular groove on the sink flange. Once again, during installation of the snap ring, upward forces may be imposed upon the sink flange causing it to dislodge from its mounting within the sink drain opening.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,054 discloses a clamping device including a tee-bolt having a head that engages the sink flange adjacent the top of the sink and a threaded body extending through the flange for threaded engagement with an upwardly opening yoke that works against the bottom of the sink. The clamping device fixes the position of the sink flange, but does not control or assist in the positioning of the back-ring or the mounting ring as the snap ring is manually positioned in the annular groove in the sink flange. Also, if the threaded body is tightened excessively, there is a risk that the tee-bolt will over-load the sink flange and damage the finish of the upper surface of the sink.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,474 discloses a hand operated pliers-like tool used to open the snap ring and to place the open ring in the annular groove. Although this reduces the forces applied to the sink flange and may reduce the need for a second person, it does not directly assist in the placement and position control of the additional ring components. More particularly, the back-up ring and the mounting ring are not confined and must be positioned by hand as the snap ring is installed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,607 discloses a tool for installing a gasket and a snap ring into a seating groove in a hollow tube such as a pipe. The tool includes a pair relatively movable forward and rearward plates carried on a shaft and resiliently spaced apart by a coil spring. The snap ring is compressed into a loading groove on the forward plate and positioned adjacent the seating groove. A plurality of pins extend from the rearward plate into the loading groove. Accordingly, movement of the rearward plate towards the forward plate pushes the snap ring from the loading groove and into the seating groove.